ALEXANDER ZABINAS:

King of Syria, 124-122 B.C. He was the young son of a merchant, but he allowed himself to be proclaimed by the Egyptian king Ptolemy Physcon as an adopted son of King Antiochus VII., Sidetes, of Syria, and became the ruler of the country. In the active political intrigues of the time, Alexander found it to his advantage to secure the interest of the Jewish king Hyrcanus; and, in compensation, he rendered various services to the state of Judea.